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Federal lawmakers plotting storm relief

Jeremy AlfordCapitol Correspondent

Published: Sunday, November 25, 2012 at 6:01 a.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, November 25, 2012 at 12:10 a.m.

BATON ROUGE — While Congress already has legislation for Hurricane Isaac relief pending in both chambers, a measure expected to be introduced soon for an unrelated recovery on the East Coast could offer more funding opportunities for those still struggling along the Gulf Coast.

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are anticipating a relief bill for Hurricane Sandy, which battered New York, New Jersey and several other states in late October.

With the bill for Isaac still in legislative limbo during this lame duck session of Congress, Louisiana lawmakers are eager to see what happens next.

"If there is going to be Sandy-related legislation, then we're all going to be working hard to make sure we look for opportunities to represent Louisiana's needs as well," said Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Metairie.

Not long after Hurricane Isaac made landfall over southeastern Louisiana in late August, Rep. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, introduced the Investment Saving Access After Catastrophe Act, or ISAAC Act.

It would essentially provide additional tax relief to those affected by Isaac, which blew into Louisiana with sustained 80 mph winds and flooding rains.

John Cummins, Cassidy's press secretary, said there are already efforts underway to expand the proposed act to include provisions for Sandy.

"He is currently in discussions with Congressional leadership about how to push this critical legislation forward before the end of the year," Cummins said. "He is hopeful that we can move forward quickly to bring relief to victims of both storms."

MORE THAN ONE BILL

As originally proposed under the ISAAC Act, families and individuals would be able to deduct more of their losses that were not reimbursed.

They would also be allowed to withdraw money from their individual retirement accounts and other retirement accounts. The money would be tax free and not subject to contribution limits if paid back within three years.

Additionally, small businesses could deduct more of their profit losses on their tax returns.

If more than one relief bill comes into play, that shouldn't be a problem, said Sen. David Vitter, a Republican from Metairie who is co-sponsoring Cassidy's bill in the upper chamber.

"It's probably better that there's not just one bill," Vitter said. "There are a lot of different categories of need."

For example, Vitter said he's aware that Louisiana's commercial fishermen are still seeking recovery assistance in the wake of Isaac, and many view a Hurricane Sandy relief bill as an avenue to make it happen.

"There will likely be some Sandy relief bill, and we should use the opportunity for Isaac and other needs along the Gulf Coast," Vitter said. "I don't want to take anything away from Hurricane Sandy or from Hurricane Isaac, though. But we're working on it."

That sense of encroachment is a concern for everyone, said Mike Voisin of Houma, a member of the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission.

Hurricane Sandy made landfall roughly south of Atlantic City in New Jersey as the largest Atlantic tropical system on record, leaving behind a trail of death and destruction.

After years of receiving help from other states for hurricanes in her own state, Sen. Mary Landrieu, a New Orleans Democrat, said she's looking forward to relief for both groups of hurricane-stricken areas.

In addition to co-sponsoring Cassidy's legislation, she said she's working on disaster supplemental legislation that would address Sandy and Isaac, as well as other disasters around the nation.

"We owe it to all those affected by all disasters to work together to fully fund a recovery," she said.

ANOTHER FORM OF RELIEF

Landrieu added that Congress should be looking at recovery from an administrative standpoint as well, not just money.

While the Federal Emergency Management Agency is probably the most well-known response entity, Landrieu said a virtual alphabet soup of federal agencies can be found on the ground following a hurricane, including but not limited to Housing and Urban Development, Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Small Business Administration, as well as the Economic Development Administration and the Corps of Engineers.

"I will also be pushing for reforms to federal policies governing disaster recovery," she said. "I have witnessed numerous systemic failures, misguided policies and squandered opportunities in the way we facilitate recoveries."

Landrieu has legislation already filed that would reform the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.

The Stafford Act authorizes various forms of federal assistance to state and local governments, certain nonprofit organizations and individuals in the event of a presidentially declared emergency or disaster.

Landrieu said her bill would accomplish reform by doing the following, among other mechanisms:

n Re-authorizing two expired pilot programs for rental housing and debris removal that were determined by federal officials to save taxpayers money and expedite recovery.

n Providing incentives for state and local governments to adopt and enforce building codes, develop pre-incident recovery plans and pre-negotiate contracts.

n Making the application process for public assistance more user-friendly for state and local governments with the help of a catalog of disaster programs and a consolidated application for federal recovery assistance.

n Streamlining regulations by consolidating requirements for environmental, historic and benefit-cost reviews across different federal agencies for recovery projects.